How to deal with an eye stye

A stye is a painful lump that appears on the inside or outside of your eyelid. It usually resolves itself without any specific medical treatment, but if you suffer more discomfort than you can handle, you can turn to self-care stye treatment.

To ease the pain of your stye, there are a few treatment options that you can do right away from home:

• Hold a warm compress against your stye for a few minutes; repeat four times daily until stye disappears or drains some of its pus.
• Clean the area around your stye to remove any crusts
• Use over-the-counter painkillers as directed by your physician or pharmacist

Visit your physician if your stye is on the outside of your eyelid and it is causing you intense pain and discomfort. Not only can your physician diagnose your stye, he or she can suggest an appropriate stye treatment. Your physician may:

• Check whether your stye has developed as a result of an infected eyelash follicle and, if necessary, remove the eyelash nearest to your stye.
• Make a small cut into your stye so that it can release its pus.

Although a bacterium called staphylococcus typically causes styes, your physician may be reluctant to prescribe antibiotic treatment for your stye, as it is likely that your stye will get better on its own.

Your physician may arrange for you to see a specialist eye doctor if:

• Your stye shows no signs of improvement following conventional treatment.
• Your stye is on the inside of your eyelid and it is causing you intense pain and discomfort.

Once you have got rid of your stye, remember to practice good eyelid hygiene to prevent it from returning:

• Remove bacteria and old skin cells from your eyelids by wiping your eyelids with a clean compress doused in warm salt water on a regular basis.
• Avoid touching your eyes with unwashed hands.
• Avoid touching your eyelids with the tip of any eye drops, gels or ointments.
• Change your cosmetics regularly as old cosmetics can harbour germs.

Recurrent styes can result from an underlying medical condition such as eyelid blepharitis or acne rosacea. Your physician will be able to diagnose these conditions and, if necessary, prescribe an appropriate treatment.